The Emirates NBA Cup, formerly known as the In-Season Tournament, will return on Tuesday, Nov. 12 with a doubleheader on TNT. The NBA has always been a league that has thrived off of drama, and when creating next season’s tournament matchups, the schedule-makers knew exactly what they were doing.
The Nets and Knicks will compete in East Group A with the Orlando Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets. They play each other on Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden, a matchup that will feature no shortage of drama.
It will be the Nets’ first group play game of the 2024 NBA Cup and could also be the first time they face Mikal Bridges, who was traded to the Knicks on June 26 in exchange for Bojan Bogdanović, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite and a generational haul of future draft capital.
Before the Bridges trade, the Nets and Knicks had not struck a deal since 1983. It was originally reported that Bridges’ camp forced his way out of Brooklyn, but when Nets general manager Sean Marks finally addressed the media on July 8, he said that was not the case.
“That could not be further from the truth,” Marks said. “I think that’s just not in Mikal’s character. It’s not who he is. And that definitely did not happen. But he was told by me when I called him up and let them know that we’re at the 2-yard line.”
Bridges denied the allegations as well.
“When stuff doesn’t go as well as you want it to, you can’t just look at it and be upset and put your head down,” Bridges said. “You’ve got to look at it and accept what it was and learn how to grow from it. That’s the biggest thing. When adversity hits you’ve got to use it. You’ve got to use it as fuel, use it as a learning experience.”
Bridges now finds himself on a contending team, paired with his former college teammates in Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart. Meanwhile, the Nets, coming off a disappointing 2023-24 season, enter a full rebuild with first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez at the helm.
“You just have to understand that this is a business, and teams are going to do what’s in their best interest, and players will do what’s in their best interest and our relationship goes beyond basketball,” said Nets forward Cam Johnson, who had spent his entire career with Bridges dating back to his rookie season with the Phoenix Suns in 2019-20. “It goes beyond a team. That’s my brother for life and I wish him the best, that’s all it comes down to. Except when he plays us.”
As bittersweet as it may be, Bridges is embracing a fresh start in Manhattan. The full 2024-25 NBA schedule will be released on Thursday, so there is a chance that Brooklyn could see its former star forward sooner than Nov. 15.
“It’s sad man, I’m going to miss everybody,” Bridges said. “But I’m still in the East, so I guess I get to see them [the Nets] a few times.”
The Nets did not advance to the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup last season despite a 3-1 record in East Group C. The Knicks did advance to the knockout rounds last season with a 3-1 record in East Group B but missed out on a trip to Las Vegas after falling to the Milwaukee Bucks, 146-122, on Dec. 5.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers,123-109, on Dec. 9 to win the inaugural In-Season Tournament and LeBron James was named MVP. This season’s NBA Cup semifinals and championship will once again be held in Las Vegas on Dec. 14 and 17.